A few weeks a go a coworker of mine who has been following my food budget challenge came across a recipe for kale pesto & knew it was a “must create” for me. I’m a huge fan of kale (kale chips – nom nom!) and was curious as to how this would taste. Well to my delight, delicioso!

So you may ask why Kale is all the rage these days and no longer just the garnish we put on platters? Well it’s because it is a the superstar of the vegetables. A cup of kale has 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6, 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. Holy vitamin K! Vitamin K helps reduce the risk of cancer. Kale is also a good source of copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale also lowers cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. So in short, I’m glad Kale is now all the rage and excited for this new way to incorporate this superstar veggie into my diet.

I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe from The Full Plate Blog as I wanted a touch of acid and heat in mine. And for the best part…this recipe is fool proof and ready in a snap!

Ingredients:
- 3 tsp chopped garlic (4-5 cloves garlic)
- 1 lime or lemon squeezed
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 lb kale (1 large bundle)
- 1/2 cup walnuts

Makes: 1 serving

Directions:

Remove the leafy part of the kale from the stem. The stem is too tough to eat.

Squeeze out the juice from the lime or lemon into a food processor. Add the oil, garlic, salt, walnuts, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 of the kale. Blend. Then add the rest of the kale. You are done!

I served it over whole wheat pasta with broccoli.

Tip:

• If your a big fan of basil pesto, you can add about 5 leaves of basil to this
• Mix is up for a BBQ. Make a Caprisi platter (mozzarella and tomato) and drizzle this pesto on top.